susannahbean

Our Engagement.

2013-07-01T08:30:00.000-05:00

Well hey there! I think it's pretty obvious that I took a step back from the blog world for the last few months, but I'm definitely feeling refreshed and ready to start sharing again, and what better way to start off than with a post about one of the most exciting things ever... I'm engaged!

After six years of dating, Chris finally popped the question a few weeks ago on my birthday. I was totally surprised, which is a really hard thing to do (I'm notorious for figuring out surprises). My birthday was June 16th, and for about a month leading up to my birthday I was sure that he was going to propose. We had spent our sixth anniversary on a family trip in Mexico back in January, and we came very close to getting engaged then, but we decided to wait since Chris didn't have my ring with him. So ever since January I've been (not so) patiently waiting for the day to come. I was convinced he'd do it for my birthday, he kept dropping little hints that made me believe I was right. But for the week or two right before my birthday I started to second guess myself. He said things about how I shouldn't be expecting much for my birthday, money was tight, blah blah blah. It got to the point that two days before my birthday I texted my sister and Kaelah in a total freak out 'I'm getting old and I'll never be married' kinda way. Turning 27 was a little hard, haha.

Anyway, at about 10 pm the night before my birthday he asked me if I wanted to open my gift early or not. I wasn't too anxious to open it, but I said yes. He told me he had his stepmom wrap it and he had to grab it from her house (right next door). He left to get it and to get some ice for the margaritas we were having since our ice maker is broken. I didn't think much about him being gone for a little while. When he came back he set down a big box in front of me, and I waited until midnight to open it.

Inside the big box was a smaller box, which threw me off a little bit. When I opened that, I was stunned to see that he bought me an iPad Mini! It was such an awesome idea, something I totally love but I never would have thought to get one for myself. Chris works at Apple and has a mini of his own, but I never considered getting one. I was floored, I couldn't believe he pulled that off, or that he got me such a nice gift after days of telling me he only got a few little things. After a few minutes the shock wore off and I asked him if I should take of the plastic wrap and start setting it up. He said sure, he'd help me get it going. I took off the plastic on the front, flipped it over, and started peeling the plastic off the back, and then I saw it...

He'd inscribed it with those four little words, "Will you marry me?". In my shock I dropped the iPad on the floor (oops!), and rather than tearing up and saying yes right away, apparently I called him a not-so-nice-but-kinda-funny word and told him to shut up repeatedly. Classy, I know. After I read it again, I looked up and he was holding out the ring box. He was laughing at me hysterically the whole time, and didn't even get to properly ask me, I just said yes and let him put the ring on! I'll admit, it's not the reaction I was hoping I would have, I always expected to cry and have an emotional experience, but it was very "us". I don't think it could have gone any better :)

My ring is a family heirloom, which I am so honored to wear. His grandfather was a jeweler in Chicago, and after he passed Chris's mom held on to his leftover settings and stones, and Chris got to choose one he liked best for me. The setting has a matching wedding band, and his grandpa designed and cast them both himself. The stone is a champagne diamond, which is so unique and pretty! I need ti get it sized, right now I have a temporary spacer thing on it (which is what you can see in the photo above). I love having something that's a little different, a little vintage, and a lot sentimental. He did such a good job with the whole thing, and I'm so beyond thrilled to be engaged to him.

We don't have a date in mind yet, we have a lot to chat about before we can pin anything down, but we're thinking late summer or early fall of 2014. It's crazy that people ask that instantly, literally the next day when started telling people that's the first thing they'd ask. It hadn't even been 24 hours-- hell, not even 12 yet-- and people we're honestly asking for a date. Sheesh! I am really excited to start planning though, and I'm sure I'll keep you guys updated with how things shake out.

So there's my big news! Not too bad for my first post in nearly four months, huh?? I hope you've all been doing well, and thank you for sticking around here :) Also, I don't fully understand what's going on with GFC soon but feel free to follow my blog on bloglovin' if that's your thing (or wherever else you choose!).

Meet our new girl!

2013-03-05T13:16:00.000-06:00

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you've already heard the news, but I need to share here too! Chris and I brought a new little friend home...

Meet Cricket! She's a 3 lb. 12 week old chiweenie (that's a chihuahua/dachshund mix). We brought her home on Sunday after a couple of weeks of anticipation. The picture above was taken by her foster mom right after they got here, so we were all very excited and it's a little shaky. And don't judge my Uggs, haha! It's been snowing like crazy here so I have an excuse... at least I hope I do! :) The whole story of how this came about is pretty interesting and full of coincidence, so bear with me while I share it...

I have wanted a dog for years, but it never seemed like the right time. Chris and I have talked about it for a while now, and he was definitely reluctant. He wanted to be sure that we could provide a stable and loving home, with plenty of time to spend with a pup and enough financial stability to cover whatever her needs may be. But for Valentine's Day he finally decided it was time to start looking. I've had my heart set on bringing home a little mini dachshund. I had one as a little girl and I absolutely loved her. We knew we wanted something small, Chris said he wanted a chihuahua or a dachshund. I had looked at doxie rescues in our area over the last few years just because, but I never came across anyone that seemed like a good fit. I knew we would get a puppy, for one because I thought it'd be easier to integrate a baby with Jeans, and two because Chris and I had our hearts set on raising a puppy together. I'd also checked out local breeders and found some that seemed reputable, but you really never know, and in my heart I really wanted to adopt.

When Chris gave me the go-ahead to start looking, I couldn't help but google local doxie pups that night. Lo and behold, I found a PetFinder listing for three chiweenie pups! The three little girls were adorable, but one in particular stood out. They were born in December and had Christmas themed names, the one that we loved was Holly. I was nervous but emailed the rescue organization about her. They got back to me the next day, and she was still available! I filled out an application, they checked out our references, and next thing I know we're buying toys and a leash and picking out a new name!

Everything seemed weirdly coincidental with this whole process. The timing was perfect, I wanted a dachshund and Chris wanted a chihuahua, and she's a chiweenie! Naming her too- I wanted a vintage-y girl's name like Winnie or Pearl, and Chris wanted to name her something weird and silly (his top contender was Adventure Time, followed closely by Buckets... yeah, he's 6 haha). We were watching tv and someone said cricket, and we looked at each other and said "yeah, Cricket". So she's our little bug and we've maybe been only buying her green accessories because we're dorks like that :)

The story of the pups being rescued is pretty sad (so if you're affected by that kind of thing I'd skip this paragraph...). The pups were born to a chihuahua mom, three girls and one boy, on December 5th. A day later, the mom gave birth to a stillborn puppy, and began to hemorrhage. The owners didn't take her in to the vet for another day, and by that time she was septic and too far gone that she needed to be put down. The puppies weren't getting enough nutrition from their poor sick mama, and the deluded owners were supplementing them with coffee creamer (which makes absolutely zero sense to anyone with half a brain). The vet that euthanized the mama told the owners that either they surrendered the puppies or faced legal action. I'm not sure exactly how, but other arrangements were made for the boy puppy and the three girls went to the rescue together. They were raised from one week old by a lovely foster mama who just did wonders for them. I am so thankful for all the work the rescue and the foster mom put in to save these little girls!

So there you have it! That's the story of our little Cricket. Things are going pretty well for our first couple of days. We're giving Jeans plenty of time to adjust and get used to her. He has a room that she's not allowed in so he can escape if he needs to. He's gotten close and sniffed her a few times, but he's still pretty unsure of her. It's getting better by the hour, I think, he gets a little closer and less skittish more and more throughout the day. We have our fingers crossed that they'll be buddies soon!

Please feel free to leave tips and advice for new puppy parents if you have it, we'd love to hear it!! xo

Rethinking things.

2013-02-21T10:34:00.001-06:00

For the last few months I've been thinking about my place here on the internet and what this blog means for me. There are a lot of things I love about it, but I feel like it's become something that isn't the best representation of me. I feel too much pressure to "perform" and I found myself doing things that I wouldn't normally do just to blog about it. It's obvious that I'm not a very frequent blogger, which has added to the pressure I feel in this space. So I've decided to make some changes. I don't want to be motivated by numbers anymore. I don't want to be nervous about what I'm sharing. The main thing I'm doing right now is getting rid of paid sponsorships. There will be some other differences that I implement over time, and I am hopeful that I can make this a more enjoyable space for everyone involved. Thank you ♥

Valentine's Love.

2013-02-08T17:30:00.001-06:00

[source]

I had to share this picture I stumbled across on Pinterest, I absolutely love it. I'm normally not big on Valentine's Day, but this year I'm excited to spend it with Chris because I feel like we have cause to celebrate. We're planning on going out for a nice little dinner, nothing too fancy, but it'll be nice to take a little extra time to recognize that it's pretty awesome we've spent six years together, through thick and thin (especially the thin... or thick... whichever is the harder part, because we just got through some of that!). What are your Valentine's Day plans?

Also, congratulations to JSanalak, you're the winner of the HTC One X+ giveaway! Be on the lookout for my email :)

Life Lately.

2013-02-03T13:20:00.001-06:00

I'm totally biased here, but is he not the cutest thing ever in the whole world? My goodness. This is my new favorite photo of him, and I just happened to snap it the other night Normally when I take pictures of him being cute, I'm either too slow or the cuteness isn't fully conveyed. But not this time! I honestly want to print and frame it, I don't even care that it's grainy.

In other news, I got a job!!! I don't want to come right out and say where because I'm weird and nervous about being "found out" or something, but let's just say I'll be working at everyone's favorite coffee shop...!! I'm pretty darn excited, it'll be really nice to get back out there and bring home a paycheck! I know it isn't the office job I talked about the last time we chatted about my unemployment, but I'm excited to be working again and I think this will be a really fun environment for me. I start training next week! Thank you for all the good vibes and sweet messages you sent my way :)

xo-
Susannah

A Little Shop Talk.

2013-02-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

I've had my Etsy shop open for a few years now, and over time it's picked up speed and grown little by little. It's by no means a "big" thing, I sell a handful of items a month, maybe a few more in the winter. The whole thing started as a receptacle for all the stuff I made that I didn't have room or use for when I was in college. But now it's definitely become something I truly love and I'm proud of. Maybe it's because of the way my shop started-- more or less as a hobby-- but I've always felt a little naive about my shop as a business. That's why I never really worried about my photos being stolen or not getting the proper source when posted somewhere else. But I've gotten a handful of messages about my images being used on different sites without credit, and I started to get a little concerned. That's why I decided to start watermarking my product photos. I wanted to make an image that was noticeable enough and that wouldn't be easy to crop out if one was so inclined. I'm still a little unsure about how the watermark looks, so I was hoping you guys would give me your opinions!

This is the first image I used it in...

I made a new color card since I added a few more options (numbers 1, 7, 14, 16, 19, and 21). I made the big "SB" image to use, and I slapped a huge one in the background. The watermark is at 50% opacity. I'm pretty confident in this one, I don't feel like I need to edit it anymore. My main concern is that perhaps some of the colors are too hard to see with the thicker parts of the letters on top of them.

Next I started putting a similar watermark that included my link on my product photos...
I did a few sets of photos like the example above, but then I started to feel like the watermark was way too huge. I put this image on Instagram asking for feedback, and a lot of people loved it. A lot of other people said that it was too big and too opaque. I'm definitely in agreement now.

Next I tried reducing the size and opacity...
I think this looks better that the example above, but I'm still not 100% sold.

I also made a gray version for photos with white backgrounds...
I realize this one wouldn't be too hard to crop out, but I would much rather use this than paste a white one over my face or the product.

All in all, I think I like the smaller/less opaque version I came up with, but the problem is I'm still not totally into the idea of having a watermark on all of my images. I like the idea of it, but I don't completely love how it looks. When you look at my shop's home page, some of the item's thumbnail photo shows the watermark. I feel like maybe it's too distracting? I can't quite put into words why I'm still indecisive about it... Anyway, here's where you come in! As a customer, do you find watermarks distracting/annoying/off-putting? If you're a seller, do/would you use watermarks? I'd love to see an example of yours if you do, please leave me a link in the comments so I can check out how other people use them. What do you think of my design? Would it be better to leave off the circled SB and just have the link and arrows?

I really appreciate any and all opinions and information you guys can give me! Thank you :)

HTC One X+ Giveaway! [CLOSED]

2013-01-30T21:34:00.002-06:00

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, HTC.

Earlier this month I was sent a brand new HTC One X+ by HTC to try out and review. I have to say, this phone is a lot of fun! It took a little getting used to, adjusting to an Android phone after having an iPhone for so long was a little tough. But this phone is really cool, it has Beats audio, lots of storage, and takes awesome photos and video! HTC wants to share the love with you, too! They're giving away one AT&T optimized HTC One X+ to one lucky reader! That means the winner will get a FREE brand new smart phone, and if you have AT&T you can hook it up to your plan! If you don't have AT&T, you can still use the phone over wifi, which is what I've been doing since I got it. It's still lots of fun!

I'm keeping this giveaway short and sweet... All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment below telling me your favorite color! Make sure you leave me your email address! I'll need it if you win :) You must be a follower of my blog to win.

~~You can get one additional entry by tweeting the following:~~

~~I just entered to win an #HTCOne on @susannahbean's blog!~~

~~Enter here: http://bit.ly/X9hbKJ #TroopOneX~~

~~Leave a separate comment with your twitter name or a link to your tweet!~~

~~This giveaway ends Friday, so hurry and get your entries in! UPDATE: I've extended the giveaway deadline until Wednesday February 6th! Open to US residents only.~~

// THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS! //

**Disclosure: This post is sponsored by HTC. I received an HTC One X+ to test and review, but everything I say is my own opinion. If you win, HTC will send you an HTC One X+ of your very own within four weeks. This phone will be optimized for AT&T, but HTC is not responsible for service.

Mexico!

2013-01-25T11:15:00.002-06:00

Earlier this month Chris's family took us to Cabo San Jose, Mexico, and today I thought I'd share a few photos with you! On this particular day we took a (long) walk from our resort into town to explore the local art district.

This is the view from our hotel porch. The palm trees all had light switches attached to them!

Leaving the resort.

We stopped at a tourist-y market, Chris made a weird face.

I really wanted to bring home a pretty blanket, but I decided it would just take up space.

Creepy cape-mask things.

I loved how colorful the buildings were.

The highlight of the day was when we stopped at a blown glass factory and watched a demonstration. The guys blowing the glass were intense, they were wearing shorts and tennis shoes, no aprons or anything. We had friends in college who had a blown glass set up who wore thick leather aprons and work boots, the dudes in Mexico had nothing like that! It made me nervous, haha.

These are the only photos from our trip that I'm going to post. The rest are shots of the family as we lounged around the pool, so I think I'll keep those to myself :)

Well shoot.

2013-01-17T10:59:00.001-06:00

Hey there, guys. I really didn't mean to disappear for weeks on end! We got back from Mexico last week and I pretty much instantly got sick. I've never gotten sick from flying before but man, whatever I picked up kicked my butt. It started with a cough on Thursday, and then Friday it was a fever, coughing, headache, sneezing, and congestion.I haven't been that sick in years, and I really was just miserable. I didn't leave the house for five days, I could barely move off the couch. It was rough!

And then yesterday, all of a sudden, I felt fine. I'm still a little stuffy and have a lingering cough, but I feel a million times better now than I did over the weekend. Chris came home from work last night and I was in real clothes (!!) and makeup (!!), and he asked what I wanted to do. So, we made dinner and then headed out to the theater to see Django Unchained. It was completely spontaneous and only due to the fact that we got gift certificates for Christmas, but we went to a super late showing and had the theater to ourselves. It was nice to be out in public again :) I really loved the movie, Tarantino is a badass and the history dork in me loved the story (no matter how ridiculous it was).

Anyway, now that I'm feeling better I'm going to catch up on emails, and I plan on sharing a few photos from Mexico soon too! Thanks for putting up with me :)

A little sun and sand.

2013-01-03T01:34:00.000-06:00

Hello from sunny Mexico! Chris and I got in (with his family) yesterday, and aside from the ridiculous wifi situation we're having a blast. I'm stoked to be out of the cold and snow for a little while! I'll be back soon, hopefully with a tan :)

Random Thoughts!

2012-12-29T16:19:00.000-06:00

So I feel like I've posted this video before but maybe that was Twitter, apologies if you've seen it twice now. But it's awesome, and it's my favorite song right now, so watch it again :)

// Random Assortment of Thoughts//

// Well the holidays are over, and they kicked my booty, you guys. We had six separate celebrations to attend between the 23rd and 25th. It was intense, especially since on Christmas Eve, we had three parties to go to after 7 pm. It was fun, though, and much less stressful than I anticipated, but still exhausting. We got some fun things from our family, like I got the box set of Harry Potter movies (which will keep me very occupied). The coolest thing we got (which we've known about for a few months) is a trip to Mexico with Chris's dad and stepmom! We leave next week, and I am SOOOO excited I can't even handle it. It'll be really nice to relax and not stress about all the regular life stuff.

// I've been watching Desperate Housewives on Netflix for a couple weeks now and I totally love it. I really didn't think I'd like it at all but I'm a little obsessed. I have it on all day while I hustle to finish up orders and clean the house before our trip.

// Jeans has started insisting on sleeping under the blankets, which is weird and adorable at the same time.

// I ripped my favorite pair of jeans last month and finally got a replacement pair last night and I want to live in them. There's nothing like a good pair of jeans, right?

// I've also been living in this sweatshirt and I want on in every color. And this t-shirt too.

// I've fallen in love with this dog breed, even though we'll probably never live in a house big enough to accommodate one. I love huge dogs!

That's all I've got for now, and Jeans is laying across the keyboard and it's getting difficult to type. Hope you're having a great day!

Late night blogging is apparently my new thing.

2012-12-19T03:43:00.002-06:00

Hey guys! First of all I need to say the biggest thank you to you for all your kind words and support and general camaraderie on my last post. I can't even tell you how comforting your comments, tweets, and emails have been. I'm plugging away at responding to you guys, so check back if you're interested :)

Also, on a whim at one in the morning I decided to work on a new blog design! I've been talking with a lovely friend about a design that will *hopefully* get started in the new year, but for now I tinkered with and worked off of the lovely one that Kaelah made for me! What do you think? I know there are bits and bobs I need to fix up, and I'm in no way skilled at this, so bear with me while I get it all fixed up.

Again, thank you all, I'm so glad that I have this space to share and talk with you. xoxo

Let's get a little real.

2012-12-18T01:21:00.001-06:00

I'm sitting here at close to one in the morning, typing and deleting, retyping, deleting... I have things I want to talk about but I don't know if I can because it's scary to share stuff like this. The embarrassing stuff, the things that you're not good at, the things that make you feel bad. But I also think it's important to share that stuff, for yourself and for someone else who may find some comfort in your words. Plus I've been feeling very fluffy on this little blog lately, so why not get real for a change?

I've been unemployed for about two and a half months. I know in the grand scheme of unemployment many people face much longer stretches of joblessness, so two and a half months doesn't seem all that bad. But it's getting kinda bad for me. At first I enjoyed being unemployed. I had all this time to get my house clean and keep it that way (I got down to one dirty basket of laundry!). I was baking left and right. I was designing new stuff for the shop. And while I was doing all of that I was applying to jobs. I was choosy at first, picturing myself in that job and applying if I thought I would like it. I wasn't going to apply to any retail stores or restaurants. I wanted that part of my life to be over. And I kept saying to myself (and others) "It's only been a week/two weeks/three weeks" or "It's barely been a month" to justify the fact that I hadn't gotten a single call back.

But now I'm edging closer and closer to three months, facing the fact that I'll probably start the new year unemployed, and it's really starting to affect me. I'm finding that I don't really handle rejection well. I was all but certain of this before, but I'm realizing that it doesn't just bum me out a little, instead it stokes a million insecure feelings in me that shake me to the core. I've been questioning everything. Am I smart? Am I a good person? Am I worthwhile? And these are things I know the answers to, I know the answer is YES!!! to all of them. But not getting a single phone call has really hurt me. I can't help but think that it's me, it's my fault, because it's definitely no one else's. I still have an inkling of rationality left that says "no, you aren't inherently undesireable!", but sometimes the other side weighs heavier on my heart. I left my job because it was an unhealthy situation for everyone involved, and I thought that the hurtful things that were said wouldn't hurt once I didn't hear them anymore. But they still sting, and they make these new insecurities even harder to battle.

For a little while I was excited that maybe my shop could sustain me. I had a couple good weeks and I felt so fulfilled with that, and hopeful that maybe I could make this dream a fraction of a reality (for a little while), and then... nothing. Which is fine. I never intended for my shop to be my new job. But it would be cool... Pipe dreams, though. The reality is that all I want in life, what I feel like would complete me right now, is an office job. I know, right? Most people talk of office jobs like they're torture, but to me that seems like a dream. I want to have weekends off. I want to wear nice clothes to work. I want to be around adults (I primarily worked with high school students before). I don't care if I'm low on the food chain. But I have absolutely no office experience. My resumé is seriously sparse. I worked for my family in a restaurant all throughout high school and my first two years of community college, then once I graduated from a university two years later I came back, "just for six months". I stayed for four years. I hate that I'm in the middle of my twenties and haven't had an ~adult~ job yet.

For the last week or so I've been pretty sad about this whole situation. I've been confronting all these things about myself, and a lot of them I'm working through in a positive way, which is rad! But I let some things get to me, and drag me down. I haven't applied anywhere for at least a week because it was easier to ignore it than face more rejection.

I'm starting to feel like I'm on an upswing, and I want to start applying again. I feel good about myself and proud of who I am and what I offer! I just need to convince someone else of that. It's a hard thing to do, especially for someone like me who's used to playing it safe, but I'm ready.

If you read all of that, thank you. If you didn't, I understand. It was just nice to get it out :)

Autumn Gardens.

2012-12-11T14:25:00.001-06:00

// Jacket: Thrifted // Dress and Necklace (sold out): c/o Kintage // Tights: We Love Colors // Boots: Target // Lipstick (Moscow): c/o Radiant Cosmetics //

This dress is easily my favorite floral print of all time. I can't get over how perfect the colors are! The fit is great too, it has elbow length sleeves that I had to hide because it was freeeeeezing! And windy, too, hence the crazy hair. But I couldn't pass up taking some photos in this outfit, it all just came together so nicely, even my lipstick matched! I'm in love with this lipstick, too, I've tried other mattes that end up drying out my lips really quickly and getting gross, but this one from Radiant stays creamy!

Today I'm hustling to finish a few orders, and enjoying my alone time before the rest of the week gets crazy! Babysitting my nephew tomorrow, college friends are in town for hang outs on Thursday, and then a holiday party on Friday! But today is for Law & Order: SVU and leftover Chinese food on the couch :)

PS: I'm having a little flash sale in my shop until midnight tomorrow! Use the coupon code FIFTEEN15 to get 15% off your total order!! Wahoo!!!

Scalloped Nails DIY

2012-12-08T13:25:00.002-06:00

I did my nails like this the other night after seeing something similar on Pinterest. I didn't find any directions to follow, but it's really pretty simple to do so I thought I'd share what I did! I tried taking step by step photos but it's super hard to take photos of your nails as you're painting them :)

TIPS BEFORE YOU START:

You want to use two nail polishes that have similar brush sizes and shapes. A lot of my newer polishes have a square brush that doesn't really work with this look. It's also best if you can use polishes that only need one coat.

1. Wipe off most of the polish from your brush on the bottle. You don't want a lot of polish to drip down as you paint. Dip your brush back in until just the tip has a little glob of polish. You need it to be a round-ish droplet in order to get the scalloped look.

2. Paint your scallops on your nail! I like to do them staggered because it's easier to define the shapes than if they were all in a line. Just use that little droplet to make a circle on your nail and then pull the paint towards the tip.

3. Let your first coat dry completely. Paint your second color the same way, leaving a little space for your first color to show through. If your second color scallops don't connect to each other, just fill in the space once you've done the rounded part. Let it dry and seal with a top coat.

Like I said, pretty simple :) Let me know if you give it a shot!

Complementary.

2012-12-04T08:00:00.000-06:00

// Dress: c/o LuLu*s // Tights: Charlotte Russe (old) // Belt: Snagged from another dress // Boots: Vintage //

I'm crazy about this dress I got from LuLu*s, it's such a good color and the metal collar tabs are super rad in my book. I can't say I own a single other purple dress, but I think I like it! I had to wear my Simpsons tights with it, my years of art classes kicked in and I couldn't avoid dressing up like a color wheel :) This dress looks good over jeans too, which I have to admit I switched over to after taking these pictures. It's been warm here, but not quite warm enough for a sheer dress and tights, haha.

I feel like everyone else I know has kicked full swing into holiday mode, but I'm lagging behind. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the fact that I'm not doing much in the way of presents this year (unemployment doesn't bode well for gift-giving), but I barely feel like Christmas is right around the corner. I guess I have to get into the holiday mindset, though, because my sisters and mom and I are doing a big Christmas cookie baking day next week. We're supposed to bring two batches of our own, and then when we're together we'll make a few more dozen to swap! I'm getting excited, I picked out some fancy looking recipes from Pinterest that I can't wait to try! What's your favorite holiday cookie?

Today I'm spending some time with my sister and nephew, they were out of town for a little while and I need to catch up on baby snuggles :) I hope your day is fabulous! xo

Elbow patches and pencil skirts.

2012-11-29T12:17:00.001-06:00

// Sweater: TJ Maxx // Skirt: Thrifted // Belt: Snagged from another dress // Tights and Boots: Target //

First off, I need to say thank you to everyone who took part in my sale this past weekend. This season is the best I've had yet, which I said last year, and the year before that too. I'm so unbelievably thankful that you guys are into what I make, and that, at a time when I'm between real-life jobs, I can pay my bills with the fruits of my hobby. That blows my mind, and I couldn't be more grateful! So, thank you again!

So let's talk about this outfit. Last Saturday I went up to Wisconsin to hang out with my nieces. My 16 year old niece was in town from California, and the girls wanted to take care of some holiday shopping. There's nothing like shopping with a 16 year old California-girl to make you feel like your closet needs an update in a major way! Right now, she's all about comfy oversized sweaters, and her predilection for them rubbed off on me. Granted, this sweater is far from oversized, but I can't tell you the last time I wore a sweater (other than cardigans, because I wear those pretty consistently!). I don't know why, I think it's because of a string of poor sweater choices in high school, but I kinda swore them off. But now they're all I can think about, I want a million sweaters of all shapes and colors! Target has a pretty rad selection right now, if you're looking :) So anyway, I got this one from TJ Maxx, a place I need to shop more, and have worn it way too many times because, hello, elbow patches. And the pencil skirt. I really love pencil skirts, but they are not especially flattering on my frame. But I don't totally mind. I still wear them :)

Chris has the next couple days off, and I'm determined to get our Christmas tree up while he's home! I have no idea where we're going to put it, though, our house is teeny tiny compared to where we were living last winter. We're also rewatching Lost right now, and we've gotten to the point in season 6 where I just can't keep track of everything that's happening. I think we may need to backtrack a little!

Hope you're having a nice day :)

Black Friday // Cyber Monday SALE!!!

2012-11-23T00:00:00.000-06:00

Grab some crocheted goodies on sale! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving :)

Bun and Buttonup.

2012-11-21T13:39:00.000-06:00

// Jacket: H&M // Shirt and Jeans: Target // Boots: Thrifted // Sunglasses: Five Below //

I haven't done an outfit post in forever, it seems, mostly because I've been hard at work being a couch bum and crocheting all day. I definitely feel like my style choices have shifted to reflect comfort more than they ever have before. I've been wearing a lot of t-shirts and jeans, and I'm trying to get my hands on all the plaid button ups and flannels I can. It's been a nice change of pace, but I'm really missing my dresses!

I thought I'd mention this too- I've been selling some of my clothes on Instagram, and now you can view IG profiles on the web! So here's the link to that if you're interested. Shipping is included for the US, $5 extra for Canada/International.

Hope your day is going well! Rest up, fellow Americans who celebrate Thanksgiving, we've got a lot of eating to do tomorrow!!

VLOG: How to // Straightener Curls

2012-11-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

I've had a few requests for this tutorial, so I hope you like it! I had a lot of fun editing it :) I really like doing these curls, they last way longer than curling iron/wand ones. Also- it totally looks like I'm balding in a few frames but I'm just in desperate need of a root touch up, haha. Let me know if you try this out!!

A little dose of inspiration.

2012-11-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

I don't often share these little inspiration quotes I stumble across but I've found myself focusing on them a little more than usual lately, and I thought you might like them too.

[source]

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// All of the photos link back to their original source, or if I couldn't find the original, they link to Pinterest. If you know the original source for any of these images please let me know in the comments! //

Shop Update!

2012-11-17T08:00:00.001-06:00

I'm excited to share with you a huge shop update, just in time for the holidays! I listed a whole bunch of new items last night, and I'd love for you to give them a look! I've had a lot of extra time on my hands while I look for a new job, and it's been nice to be able to take the time to design new stuff. I had a lot of fun trying new things, and I really hope you guys like them. I have a few more designs I want to try out before holiday shopping really kicks into gear, but I'm really proud of everything I've listed so far :) I try to make each new year with my shop the best one yet, and I've definitely accomplished that in terms of product. Now I just need to make that happen with sales, ha!

In other news, our good friend Aly is trying to get a kickstarter going to fund her new EP, and we'd love it if you'd check her out! She's an amazing musician, she was even on American Idol and The Voice! We saw her perform a few weeks ago and I was totally blown away, we've known her since high school (middle school for me!) and we just know she's gonna do big things. So give her a listen :)

My favorite song (for now!)

2012-11-13T12:11:00.001-06:00

I filmed a vlog yesterday that I had hoped I could post for you today, but it turns out I'm a big dummy and don't know how to work Chris's fancy iMac, so I filmed it totally wrong. I'll be redoing it soon, but in the meantime I thought I would share my favorite song at the moment. The Lumineers are so fun, but this is my absolute favorite track off their self titled album.

Speaking of music, I'm desperate for some new tunes! What are some of your favorites??

Windowshopping // Fall Edition

2012-11-08T12:24:00.002-06:00

// 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 //

I usually don't worry about what I wear in what season, but this year I'm finding myself drawn to typical fall trends. Right now I only want to wear mustard, whiskey, pumpkin, bright red, navy... Pretty much all the colors that fall in the autumn palette. Also, I want everything plaid. I'm longing for my high school days where I had dozens of plaid long sleeve button ups to choose from! I actually got a couple from Target on clearance, and I have a feeling they'll become a staple this season.I'm doing a lot of window shopping lately, so you may see more of these lists coming up :)

A few days ago I made my very first pie, and while it didn't turn out *perfect looking* it was definitely tasty. I picked a simple apple recipe and cheated with premade crusts (which, let's be honest, is probably what I'll stick to because making a crust from scratch scares me). Yesterday I made another apple and a pumpkin, and I have a coconut recipe picked out. I definitely want to make a hundred more pies now, and I have all these flavor ideas floating around in my head (it doesn't hurt that this is one of my favorite movies ever...). Do you have any favorite pies to make? Or any tips and tricks for a total noob like me?? I'd love to hear them!!

Shop sneak peeks!

2012-11-06T12:03:00.001-06:00

Well hey there! Apparently I decided to disappear for almost a week. To be honest, this whole unemployed thing has thrown my game off. I definitely love having time to myself, and time to work on shop stuff, but my days sorta run together and the lack of fundage has been wearing me down. I've been in a bit of a funk for the last week or so, but I'm starting to feel better! I'm getting really close to doing a big shop update, and that always makes me happy :) It's been really nice to be able to crochet to my heart's content, and I'm really into all the new designs I've come up with. I can't wait to share more!